Bears Know Best

Chapter 29: Little Girl

THAT EVENING MOM and I washed laundry, including my new shirt for the next day. She and I ended up cuddling up on the couch and watching a musical, Dreamgirls, which I hadn't seen before. The music in it was great, and I really enjoyed it. I ended up painting her toenails and she did my fingernails and toenails in my new schools' colors. I was excited for the next day's performance. As much as I knew it wasn't likely to set the world on fire back home, it was fun to be with my friends and do something that took so much coordination and effort to make a fun show.

I also talked to Dad for about twenty minutes, and... the big shocker was Rachel for five minutes. She had wanted to know if there was anything special that we wanted to do. I mentioned shopping, but other than that I couldn't see anything that I knew the other girls would want to do. They were flying out with me as guests, and as far as I cared I didn't have anything I wanted to do other than avoid fighting with her. As I was passed back to Dad, I held back from asking what planet the alien was from that had taken her body.

The morning rehearsal seemed to last forever outside. We had started outside, and ran through the show about a hundred times it felt like. Mr. Brandt said, "Fight song!" and I felt like an idiot, because I didn't know something. He had never passed it out to us, but all of the upperclassmen were playing it from memory.

"That was embarrassing..." I told Destiny as we walked in together for a last hour inside for the morning.

"Finally, something I can play that you couldn't!" She just giggled with glee. I wasn't going to live this one down.

"Freshmen, come get your music for the fight song!" Mr. Brandt ordered as we walked in.

I spent my entire break playing through it and memorizing it. It wasn't hard, but I'd need to play it more to have it in my head if we were going to do it that night. I apparently started a rush of freshmen doing the same thing. By the end of the next hour of rehearsal we had that down as a band, and the alma mater. "Alright, be back here in an hour so we can run through the show a couple more times and then I'll let you go till the barbeque!" Mr. Brandt had said.

I noticed Destiny and the other section leaders giggling and talking together. It wasn't uncommon for the others to do so, but it seemed strange for Destiny. She smiled in my direction and I wondered if she was plotting something. 'She's been well behaved and nice since Tuesday, I'm sure it won't be anything bad,' I tried to assure myself.

The four of us once again ate lunch at Breanna's house and I kept my promise to play with Kaylie. She was so cute, and it was fun to just watch her and interact with her when she wanted you to. "You can take her with you, you know," Breanna had joked with me on the way back.

"I think you would miss her," I said.

"No, not really." She smiled back. "She's not always the sweet innocent little girl that she is around you!"

I laughed at her, and we all made our way back to our seats. We were introduced to a few traditions the band had during that afternoon rehearsal, including some chants that were a lot of fun to scream together. After another couple run-throughs of the show outside in the blazing summer heat, he let us go. Reminding us what to bring, wear, and to take our instruments with us to the park. He had his truck and a couple of drummers' trucks loaded up to haul everything the few blocks to the park.

I just carried my marching horn into my mom's car though, as she picked up the two of us that day. Mom had taken off the afternoon to help out with the barbeque. We had about two hours before we were supposed to go though. "Want to do our hair the same?" Alyssa asked me as we drove up to my house.

"Umm... sure!"

"Let's go over to my house, I have a few things over there I don't think you have."